Reflections

The Road Less Traveled

In the past few months I've been spending a lot of time and energy considering some important choices about my professional life.  It has not been easy.  In fact, as I reviewed my journal from the past 18 months, I saw that this journey has been in process over that period. 

As I sit here reflecting on things in the wee hours of the night, the phrase "The Road Less Traveled" came to mind.  I remembered a wonderful poem by Robert Frost about this concept.  It is in fact called "The Road Not Taken" while "The Road Less Traveled" is the title of a bestseller written by M. Scott Peck (and American Psychiatrist) in 1978, but these facts are neither here nor there.  

The point is, I feel like this is what I should be doing: taking the road less traveled. 

What does that mean?

  • It means making the choice that isn't the easiest one, but the better one. 
  • It means having the courage to be bold. 
  • It means not selling out on my dreams. 
  • It means following my inner wisdom, and pursuing the path that gives me the most joy.  

All of this is easier said than done.  But, I owe it to myself and all those around me to do it.  I serve no one by taking the safe route.  

I will end this posting with Robert Frost's beautiful poem.  May it inspire you. 

 

 
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;        
 
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,        
 
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.        
 
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

 

Posted Sunday, May 31, 2009 in Reflections. You can follow any responses to this post through the comments feed. You can leave a comment or trackback from your own site.

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